What date would you say the Roman Empire collapsed? Some would say it was 476AD with the collapse of the WRE. Others would argue it was in the 7th Century, when the ERE lost the southern and eastern Med to the Islamic conquests, and became a radically different entity in both language in structure to "Rome". I personally would argue that it was only in 1922, with the end of the Ottoman Empire, with it's capital in Constantinople and it's Med powerbase. What are the boards thoughts on this?